A Meditation - Inner Child #1

This is a 30-minute meditation that guides you to call in one of your inner children and build a relationship. This meditation is informed by the “Internal Family Systems” model which believes that we all have different “parts” inside of us that make us whole. We are working to get to know an inner child and introduce them to our whole selves. This can be helpful for people of all ages, in all avenues of self-knowledge and introspection. As we explore, we can get to know all the parts that live in us to make us who we are.

Music | Soothing Restorative Yoga Meditation - MEDIA MUSIC GROUP

Transcript

Hello friends,

Welcome to an inner child meditation.

Let's take a few deep breaths wherever we are,

Breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth,

Yeah a few more just like that,

Breathe in deeply and breathe out.

Breathe into the crown of the head,

At the very top of the head and then as you breathe out let the air spiral down all the way to your root and leave your body connecting you with the earth,

See if you can follow then breathing in from the root spiraling the energy all the way up to the crown of the head and then on the exhale spiraling the energy back down breathing at your own rhythm aligning with your body,

This body you've been gifted,

Your soul has been gifted in this lifetime and my invitation today is for you to trust your wisdom,

The wisdom that lives in your belly,

That lives in your gut,

That lives beyond the thoughts and beyond the mind as we explore building a relationship with an inner child of yours.

You might notice any thoughts that come from the idea of this work,

Maybe you've worked with your inner children before of which there are probably many or maybe you've never done something like this and seeing if you can in your imagination pretend that you've done anything like this before because you actually haven't been right here right now listening to this at this time ever before.

So can we learn from the innocence of children and remind ourselves that this is a new opportunity to be curious and if anything comes that feels too like too much or overwhelming to the body you can open the eyes and look around the room you can squeeze your knees or your arms giving yourself a hug or maybe you just are clasping your hands one in the other and you just rotate squeezing one hand and then the other.

Bringing this bilateral movement into the body is really helpful for the nervous system.

So wherever you are,

Whether you're squeezing your own hands,

Whether you have your hands on your knees,

I invite you to bring a pulse into one hand and then a release and then a pulse into the other where you're bringing and squeezing into one hand and then the other and and then the other and for the whole meditation for as long as you can remember I invite you to keep this bilateral stimulation going and this is just something you're creating for yourself and if it falls away that's perfectly fine.

So feeling the pulse,

One squeeze,

Next squeeze,

Another squeeze,

Another squeeze,

Just like that.

Taking the breath and really allowing for it to feel nourishing in the body and taking a moment to call in all of the inner children who you know in your life,

In your body,

In you.

Inner children alive in you.

So maybe you have a child who's before utero,

Like as you were in your mother's womb,

Perhaps that's a version.

Maybe there's a who took their first breath.

Maybe it's a 18 month old.

Maybe it's five.

Maybe they're 15.

Just seeing as you scan your life if there's a an inner child who particularly feels present.

Today we'll work with one of them and maybe you want to let the other ones know who've arrived in your psyche that you can try this meditation again and work with another one another time.

But only tell those inner children who've arisen that you will come back if you will really come back.

Part of what we need to learn to do is to have those inner children trust our whole selves.

The whole of us,

The internal family systems.

Richard Swartz,

The founder,

Says the capital S self,

The self that includes all of the parts.

And I refer from a teacher of my name Bill Plotkin to use the word the whole self.

So the invitation is for us today to have just a conversation with this inner child and your whole self.

Noticing who's present,

Breathing,

And inviting your whole self forward.

The parts of you will make you into who you are and inviting one inner child saying hello.

Tuning into what you do first to introduce yourself to somebody.

Even if you've met before,

You might say hello,

My name is.

It's nice to see you.

What's your name?

What do you like to be called?

All we're doing is bringing curiosity here.

Sometimes we might get information and sometimes we might not.

And one of the most important things to do is to hold this experience with as much openness and non-judgment as possible.

We're just going in and being curious,

Exploring.

You've never done this before.

Not right here and now.

So notice,

What are you wearing?

What is your inner child wearing?

What's happening in your body language?

Are you still squeezing your knees,

Keeping the bilateral stimulation going?

And then what's happening to the child?

What's the body language like?

And as you notice the body language,

What are you sensing about what's going on?

What's the child sensing about what's going on for your whole self?

Noticing the cadence of the breath.

And from here,

It might be interesting to you to start a dialogue.

And dialogue doesn't have to be words.

It could be through body movements,

Through facial expressions.

And just see if you could listen,

Trusting the deep inner wisdom of this inner child.

Asking what's going on for you?

Who are you?

What do you care about?

How can I support you?

How can we build trust?

What is trust?

Breathing with your own wisdom,

Trusting what naturally wants to arise between you and this inner child.

Maybe the child wants to be read to.

Maybe the child wants to be sung to.

Maybe the child wants to sit in the corner and hug themselves and have you be there.

Holding the space for whatever is needed just right now.

See if your whole self might really listen to the child.

Noticing what's arising.

Staying present right here in your body as you make contact,

As you join in conversation with this little one.

And notice what's going on.

What's the interaction like?

What are you noticing in your body?

Are you noticing an openness?

Are you noticing a constriction in the shoulders or the back?

Maybe you notice a color that appears.

Perhaps as you connect longer with this being,

There's a temperature shift that happens inside the body.

Or simply noticing how much can we be aware of as we invite this little one,

Our inner child,

To be with us.

Be with us.

Maybe it's somber energy.

Maybe it's playful energy.

Just noticing with a non-judgmental,

Open-hearted place,

Whatever is arising.

Noticing what happens if there are moments of silence,

Of stillness,

And seeing if your body,

Your whole self,

Can be at ease with any space that's needed.

Sometimes we try to fill all of the space,

And what if silence,

Room,

To simply allow for whatever is naturally unfolding between you and this inner child?

What if we just created the space,

Holding it for whatever wants to emerge within your wisdom,

Both of your wisdom,

Because that wisdom is not separate.

Perhaps the question is,

What do you need from me on both sides?

What do I need from you,

And what do you need from me?

What would be supportive?

What would be supportive?

What would be helpful?

How can I be here for all of us,

All of these complex pieces,

Parts,

That are alive within me,

Within this universe of cells that exists in this body and soul,

Connected to the spirit?

And perhaps some negotiation might be needed.

Sometimes the inner children really love to steer the ship,

And the whole self might be useful to have some boundaries,

And say,

I hear you.

Thank you for sharing with me what you need.

And how can we be in collaboration to form trust?

To form trust,

Because you're no longer only the age of the inner child.

Perhaps there's a wise elder who lives in you as well,

Who stands beyond space and time,

And is connected to the infinite.

Keeping the bilateral movement going in the body,

Staying present as you explore.

Maybe there's been a lot that is coming through,

Or maybe not.

Seeing if your whole self can simply be open to whatever has come,

And letting yourself know,

And letting your inner child know that we're coming towards the end of this formal time together.

And if there's anything else that wants to come forward,

Now would be a great time to explore.

Just trusting the natural flow of whatever's coming,

Knowing that you can always come back.

And it can be helpful to tell this part of you that you'll visit again.

This isn't the only time.

Again,

This is how we build trust.

This is how we build a relationship.

Saying,

You have protected me,

Actually.

All of these things that you learned when we were little have protected me.

And now the whole self gets to include some of this wisdom,

And some of the wisdom from the inner child might be old and outdated,

And we might need to do some adjusting.

Is the child open?

Is there buy-in?

Can we revisit?

And only saying that you'll revisit if you're really going to.

Taking a moment and thanking the part that came forward for us today.

For real,

Sincerely,

Thank you.

Thank you for coming.

Thank you for being here today.

Even just showing me a glimpse.

Or,

If they didn't come,

Maybe they need more time,

And that's okay.

Just accepting whatever it is the experience is,

And honoring yourself for taking the time to call forth this particular part,

Just to see the trust of your deeper wisdom.

You know,

We're complex beings,

Multidimensional beings,

And we are very layered.

And so part of what we're doing is looking and peeling back the layers.

Thank you for having the courage to look,

And see,

And explore.

Knowing that you can stay here as long as you need.

Maybe the conversation is not complete,

Trusting yourself.

And if it is your time to complete the meditation,

I invite you to bring To complete the meditation,

I invite you to bring some movement side to side into the body.

Maybe forward to back,

Giving yourself a little stretch,

Or a big stretch.

When you're ready,

Slowly letting your eyes start to blink open,

Letting in the surroundings,

All the light that there is to see.

If we can see what there is to feel,

What there is to hear,

There is to taste,

What there is to smell,

Keeping us really completely present here.

The only place we really need to be is just right here in these bodies,

With ourselves,

Our whole selves.

And invite all of the parts of us to be a part of this human experience.

Thank you.

Be kind.

Be gentle.

Be loving.

Be gentle.

Be loving.

See you next time.